Archive for February 2012
2
Majority favour self-mangement of household rainwater systems
0 Comments | Posted by Water Tactics in rainwater, water conservation
Preliminary findings of research focusing on rainwater tank operation and maintenance indicate that the majority favour self-management of household rainwater systems. The research, conducted by the CSIRO on behalf of the Urban Water Security Research Alliance during 2011, involved workshops attended by rainwater industry stakeholders with subsequent community research. The objective of the workshops was to document various strategies for ensuring the ongoing viability of household rainwater harvesting in relation to development of future water security policy.
Water Tactics were involved in the Brisbane workshop and put forward our belief that the most effective way to ensure long-term viability was to encourage self-management of household rainwater harvesting systems through continued Government recognition of the contribution of rainwater to the conservation of reticulated water supply and the consideration of rainwater tank maintenance as a part of regular household maintenance. However, there were others who suggested compulsory inspection and registration of tank owners. You can read full details of our participation in our previous news item.
In an extract from the research findings in a letter to stakeholder workshop participants dated 18/1/12:
“Workshop discussions suggested that self-management approaches and amendments to regulations to improve design and installation were viewed as the most effective and most preferred options”. “Regulatory approaches for ensuring ongoing maintenance, through the use of routine inspections and penalties, were assessed as the least effective and the least preferred options.”
Not surprisingly, when the stakeholder workshop outcomes were presented to community focus groups, the majority were in favour of self-management with back-up assistance when requested combined with communication to raise awareness and highlight the benefits of rainwater system maintenance. In the research to date, there was no community support for compulsory inspections or for creating registers of rainwater tank households.
Research continues in 2012 with the aim to measure broad-scale community attitudes to rainwater tank operation and maintenance with the aim to assessing the long-term viability of household rainwater harvesting in water conservation in Australia. The outcomes will almost certainly confirm the preliminary findings and concur with our belief that a vast majority favour self-management of household rainwater systems.
